Related Programs Bowshock I & II

Skipper

As prime contractor on Skipper, an international program funded by MDA to produce an atmospheric research satellite, SDL designed, built, integrated and operated the spacecraft, wrote all flight software, and developed flight electronics and all ground-based data handling and display hardware. SDL also integrated and tested the Russian power and propulsion subsystems developed by the Research Institute of Applied Mechanics and Electrodynamics of the Moscow Aviation Institute (RIAME/MAI). In addition, SDL integrated the spacecraft to the launch vehicle, established and operated the mission control center at SDL, performed mission operations through AFSCN, and defined link and operations protocols, mission planning and orbit design.

Skipper was transported to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for an October 1995 launch on a Molniya-M rocket provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense.